North holds parade sans ICBMs

북한, ICBM 공개 없이 열병식

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, raises his hand with China’s third highest ranking official, Li Zhanshu, during a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday. North Korea did not show off any inter-continental ballistic missiles during the parade. [AP/YONHAP]

North Korea on Sunday staged a major military parade featuring over 10,000 soldiers and rows of tanks rolling through Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, but it held back from showing off intercontinental and medium range missiles to avoid upsetting the United States.

Commemorating the anniversary of its 1948 founding, the Kim Jong-un regime staged its first military parade since a landmark June 12 summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. Eyes were on whether Pyongyang would roll out intercontinental missiles that could hit the U.S. mainland in the parade, which would have been a slap in the face for Washington as the two have been holding denuclearization talks.

It turned out the North opted to neither showcase its ICBMs nor medium-range missiles, according to foreign media reports filed by correspondents in Pyongyang. “Parade just finished: North Korea displayed NO ICBMs, medium range missiles,” reported NK News on its Twitter account.

Another story by AFP reported that only Kumsong-3 anti-ship cruise missiles and Pongae-5 surface-to-air missiles were showcased. The parade began around 10 a.m. and lasted for around two hours and was said to have shifted its focus from the North’s military might to the importance of economic development.

“If the North had rolled out intercontinental missiles like it did in the past, it would have raised serious questions over its sincerity for denuclearization among U.S. officials,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in Seoul specializing in North Korea affairs. “The fact that it chose not to do so could be seen as a statement of its seriousness about denuclearization, thus continuing the momentum for talks with Washington,” he continued.